MUW fires new police chief

Mississippi University for Women today terminated its new campus police chief, John Harris, MUW Director of Public Affairs Anika Perkins confirmed this afternoon.

Perkins did not release any other details about the dismissal,

Harris, who has only been on the job since April 20, also serves as Ward 5 city councilman in Meridian, where he currently is running for re-election.

Harris was informed by the university he would have to move to Columbus permanently as a condition of his hiring. However, state law requires municipal representatives live in the political area in which they represent.

MUW planned to allow Harris to finish out his term, which expires in July, before requiring the move to Columbus.

For weeks, Harris had been silent about whether or not he was going to drop from the Meridian race, but announced Thursday he intended to stay in the running.